If I were to start predicting my game of the year lists in January of that year, I think I’d usually be able to get at least one or two games correct. There’s often a notable game from a favorite developer or series that seems like a safe bet—sure things like Monster Hunter, Metal Gear, or anything by Yasumi Matsuno. Had I guessed at 2014’s list I would have struck out completely, which is disappointing because it means some of the games I was most looking forward to ended up falling short of my expectations. On the other hand, so many fun and surprising games appeared last year that I had no trouble filling the empty spaces.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

Titanfall

Existing somewhere between Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament, Titanfall is one of the freshest first-person shooters I’ve played in years. The giant Titan mech suits, sort of a democratized version of other games’ killstreaks and vehicles, may be the feature attraction, but I found the parkour-inspired, out-of-mech movement system to be the real star. I quickly reached a point where I’d only climb into my Titan if I really had to—it was too much fun running on walls or discovering a new aerial route to the next objective.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

A fun, jump-free twist on the modern Mario formula, and a welcome expansion on one of Super Mario 3D World‘s best surprises.

Monument Valley

A gorgeous world filled with low pressure, but still very satisfying puzzles. Much of my enjoyment came from being able to manipulate the MC Escher-like world directly via the touchscreen—a complete change from Captain Toad.

Super Win the Game

The sequel to the ultra-minimal You Have to Win the Game does modern retro better than almost anything else out there, from unguided (but achievable) exploration to the uncannily authentic CRT filter over the game’s bright, blocky visuals. I eagerly await the series’s step into the 16-bit era. (This is in the works, right?)

0h h1

0h h1 (based on Takuzu) is not exactly picross, but it scratches an itch in the same grid-puzzling part of my brain. It also continues to amaze me just how solvable each puzzle is, by which I mean that it’s never necessary to start guessing or penciling in squares. All the clues you need are on the board—it’s just a matter of uncovering them.

5. The Last of Us: Left Behind

I’m sure developer Naughty Dog’s blend of shooting, platforming, and action set pieces are what primarily draws the crowds whenever they release a new game. I like all of that as well, and they do a great job with it, but with each new game that comes out, I’m increasingly interested in seeing what they’ve created that doesn’t fit into one of those categories, like the banter between Uncharted‘s Nate and Sully, or the precious moments of calm in 2013’s The Last of Us. I was thrilled that Left Behind, the bonus episode that came out early last year, found more opportunities to stray from (or repurpose) its parent game’s more mainstream shooting and stealth gameplay and into some of the most memorable moments of 2014. Played from the perspective of a young girl, Left Behind was heartwarming, daring, and filled with transcendant moments that everyone should experience.

4. Rex Rocket

Don’t be fooled by its cheery color palette—Rex Rocket is platforming brutality, with many area of the game leaving me staring at the screen in disbelief after realizing the feats of dexterity its creators apparently expected out of their audience. But don’t let that be a deterrent—all the challenges in Rex Rocket are overcome with some old-fashioned perseverance and mastery of its clever, ever-expanding mechanics. And the boss fights—while maybe just a hair too long—are up there with classics like Gunstar Heroes and Mega Man.

3. Freedom Wars

While none of the countless wannabes during the PSP era could convince me I needed an alternative Monster Hunter in my life, Freedom Wars brings enough new gameplay ideas (and style) to the table that I’ve decided there’s room after all. The fast-paced battle—largely thanks to the mobility and tactical options granted by the “thorn” grappling hook—and greater focus on a single-player campaign make this feel less like it’s trying to distract me from an established series and more something that can stand on its own.

2. 80 Days

Does it make sense to call a touchscreen video game a “page turner”? Despite its largely text-based interface, 80 Days imparts an incredible feeling of urgency as you weave through conversation trees and, in turn, cities and countries on your race around the globe. It creates a vivid sense of adventure as well, with journeys slowly becoming more about meeting new characters instead of the 80-day deadline. There are still some game-y elements and it’s fun to play with them to see how fast you can complete the trip, but there’s so much intrigue scattered around 80 Days‘ globe that it feels wrong not to seek out as much of it as possible.

1. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

My journey in the realm of Eorzea may have begun towards the end of 2013, but last year was truly the year of Final Fantasy XIV. Although I’d never played an MMO of this scale, I had some idea of what was in store–an organic player community, challenging endgame raids, and lots of offbeat side activities, to name a few things. Over the last year, I’ve experienced all of those and discovered yet more facets of the game that are only possible in its massive, persistent world. I’ve played the markets, crossbred rare crops, and fought for real estate. I’ve even gone days hardly lifting a weapon–there’s just so much else to do. It’s been a fascinating experience, and with the dev team tirelessly coming up with new features and expansions, it’s one I look forward to revisiting for years to come.

As we hinted at on last year’s season finale, we’d like to hear what all of you think of the show. (Beyond all the effusive Twitter praise, of course.) To make it as easy as possible for you, we’ve put together a quick, less-than-five-minutes-long survey with a few questions about the VGH, games, and podcasts in general. We’d really appreciate it if you could take a few moments of your time and fill it out. Be completely honest; if there’s something you think we could be doing better—tell us!

As added incentive, we’ll be handing out a few Amazon gift cards to respondents (selected at random). Finally… proof that your opinions have value, and that it’s awkwardly quantifiable! (Update: The gift card giveaway has ended, but you can still take the survey.)

Seriously though, we’d really appreciate hearing from you.

Loading…

(If you can’t see the survey above, click here to open it in a new window.)

]]>http://vghangover.com/2015/01/08/take-our-2015-listener-survey/feed/0Get on the air for VGH’s 2014 season finale!http://vghangover.com/2014/11/25/get-on-the-air-for-vghs-2014-season-finale/
http://vghangover.com/2014/11/25/get-on-the-air-for-vghs-2014-season-finale/#commentsTue, 25 Nov 2014 19:09:59 +0000http://vghangover.com/?p=7702

It’s back! Our fourth annual Hungover Hangover/Drunktacular/whatever we’re calling it is coming up in just a few weeks! That’s our year-end season finale show where we answer your calls and questions while enjoying some adult beverages.

As always, we’ll be taking any and all of your questions or comments—even if they’re not gaming related, so be creative! What’s Randy’s favorite video game to play with his dogs? Who’s a better chef: Paul, or Paul’s Fantasy Life character? You’ll never know if you don’t ask!

There are a few ways to submit your question or comment. Use your computer mic, headset or smartphone and send us a 60-second Audioboom for free. Or, you can leave us a Google Voice message by calling* 682-999-VGH1 (682-999-8441). If you don’t need to be heard, you can always tweet us @vghangover, send an email to contact@vghangover.com, or just leave your questions in the comments below.

Just be sure to send your message in by Friday, December 12 to ensure we receive it in time.

Once again, it’s been an amazing year doing the show and we can’t wait to hear what questions you have in store!

We’re participating in the Extra Life 2014 gaming marathon for charity! This Saturday, October 25th, we’ll be raising funds for the Children’s Miracle Network of hospitals by playing games for 24 hours straight. We hope you’ll tune into our livestream, cheer us on, and pledge your support for our team by donating a few dollars toward our fundraising goal. Any amount is appreciated! You can contribute here:

We made it! Backlog 2014 is complete and is our most successful ever, with 11 out of 18 games eventually getting crossed off our lists. As for those pesky remainders, I plan to get into Sleeping Dogs soon (maybe around when the Definitive Edition hits), Randy will seek out new rereleases of A Link to the Past to try, and Paul has vowed to play XCOM for the rest of his gaming life so he never actually has to play The Last of Us.

Listen to our closing thoughts, plus find out the winner of our community backlog contest on this week’s episode, VGH #160: Bug Stick.

Our backlogging will continue until next summer, though! You can still follow us on the Backloggery here:

The board is finally free of Halo and Alan Wake! We made some serious progress in the next-to-last week of backlog attacking—get the full update (including a discussion of Alan Wake‘s ending) on this week’s show: VGH #159: Bomb the Moon!

If you’re competing in our Backlog Attack contest, there are just a few days left before September 1st to cross games off your list! We’ll announce 2014’s backlog champion on next week’s show!

Alan Wake and Guardian Heroes complete! Guardian Heroes was short and deserves a little more time, so I’ll be splitting my time between replaying that and getting through Halo 4 as we enter the last two weeks of the Backlog Attack.

We’ll be slaying monsters of all shapes and sizes throughout the evening. Working on some early quests? All hunter ranks are welcome! Need parts from an abyssal lagiacrus? Uh… we’ll see what we can do. Hunting parties may be small, but we’ll be playing all night and we’ll start a second room if we need to, so you’ll have plenty of time to join in. (Just make sure your character has access to Port Tanzia and network mode.)

WE’RE STILL PLAYING ALAN WAKE. And we’re loving it, but please make us stop walking through the forest at night. Meanwhile, Randy continues to play A Link to the Past, but has also started into writer/director/executive producer/writer-director Suda51’s Killer Is Dead, which we’re led to believe is a video game. Get the full rundown (or at least a lengthier attempt at explanation) on this week’s show, VGH #157: The Ambiguity Continues.

Surprise! It’s the same image from last week. But, this time, I’ve actually started Alan Wake, and Randy’s made some real progress into Zelda and collected a few of those pendants or whatever magical things they’ve lost this time. Hopefully, Paul and I will have a few more episodes of Alan Wake to discuss next time. Get the full progress update for this week on our latest episode.

Also, if you haven’t already entered the Backlog Attack contest, now’s the time! Get your list of backlog games posted so we can track your progress and declare you the winner at the end of the month! You’ll win the new release game of your choice!

If you have already entered, tune into next week’s episode for the first backlog bonus challenge! In the meantime, why not create yourself an account at The Backloggery to make keeping tabs on your games even easier? You can follow our own Backloggery pages here: